Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 7, 1 July 2019 — Hui Mālama o Mo'omomi — Moloka'i [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hui Mālama o Mo'omomi — Moloka'i

Hawai'i Winners 0f The United Nations 2019 Equator Prize Awards

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Led by master lawai'a (fisher) Kelson "Mae" Poepoe, this grassroots hui has worked for over two decades to mālama the nearshore fisheries of Mo'omomi, Moloka'i.

Their efforts seek to maintain subsistence as a viable component of Moloka'i's fluctuating economy and to encourage young Hawaiians to learn and perpetuate traditional fishing practices. Hui activities include long-term resource monitoring, developing sustainable harvest guide-

lines and addressing mauka land management issues, among others. A recognized role model for many likeminded groups in Hawai'i, Hui Mālama o Mo'omomi inspired the formation of E Alu

Pū, a network of Native Hawaiian subsistence communities seeking to steward their nearshore waters. The Hui's work also led to the adoption of a state law authorizing community-based subsistence fishing areas (CBSFAs), where a community's knowledge of loeal resources ean inform harvesting regulations and perpetuate Native Hawaiian traditional and customary fishing practices. The Hui's own rule package proposal for the Northwest Coast of Moloka'i CBSFA is currently awaiting Governor Ige's approval to proceed to public hearings. ■

Kelson "Moe" Poepoe

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4 ... . 1 ' 1 • 1 1 • 1 v • • Members of Hui Maka'ainana o Makana and friends. ■ Photo: Courtesy